Another Way
by Taygeta
Summary: After a five year separation, Lizzie and Gordo meet again at Miranda and Larry's anniversary. Can they find another way to return to each other?
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Only the plot of this story is mine. Characters are not mine. They belong to Disney, who I hope are working things out with Hilary!  
  
Author's Note: This new story is dedicated to all the people that gave me such positive reviews on my first story. Thanks you guys! I'll try and respond to people this time. This story is different from that one. This first chapter is long and it's almost a story within itself, but as you will see, the story has only just begun!  
  
Another Way - Chapter One By: Taygeta  
  
David Gordon looked at his reflection in his bathroom mirror. He gave himself a satisfactory grin at what he saw.  
  
Far be it to say, he was hot.  
  
It wasn't often that he gave himself props for his looks. He wasn't one for Narcissistic moments at all, but he had to admit that he looked good this evening. The woman at the store had been right. Dark blue was his color. He was wearing the suit she had shown him: a double-breasted dark blue suit with faint gray stripes, white collared shirt, and a blue-gray patterned tie.  
  
He had other new suits in his closet; his new boss had decided that he didn't like his wardrobe. Mr. Essler, President of Essler Films, was a wealthy man who liked to dress in clothes that reflected the part. This consisted of Armani suits and the like. After working for the past year with Essler Films, David got paid well nowadays. At the age of twenty- seven, he was Mr. Essler's right-hand man, and on top of that steady job, he had written a few movie scripts that had gone on to film and generate some critical buzz. So he was sporting a few Armani suits of his own.  
  
However, he was still a relatively simple man when it came to cost and clothing. Any other night he would have been in jeans and a shirt watching television or working on a movie script or just hanging out with friends from work.  
  
Tonight was different from just a regular night.  
  
Tonight David Gordon had date.  
  
Gretchen Reese was beautiful. She had long dark curly hair and dark eyes that looked violet in certain lighting. Her smile made David want to smile. She wasn't very tall, but that was perfect because David himself wasn't very tall. He had grown since his days as one of the shortest kids in junior high, but his height had reached but average lengths and not that many inches more.  
  
David had met Gretchen a few months ago. She was an actress that he had met while his friend Henry filmed one of his movies. She had auditioned for the lead role, but the movie called for a woman with plain features...and though talented, Gretchen wasn't a woman of plain features. She did however manage to give David her phone number that day, and he taken the initiative to call and ask her out. It was an offer that met a rather warm response.  
  
They had been dating ever since.  
  
He was beginning to think he had found the perfect woman. She was beautiful, talented, and smart. They got along well and understood each other perfectly. They had an understanding of the demands of their career field and supported each other constantly. It was a match made in heaven.  
  
But most importantly, Gretchen Reese was not Lizzie McGuire.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Lizzie, when are you flying in?" asked Miranda over the phone.  
  
In the background, the blonde heard the sound of a screaming child. She heard Miranda continue, "Larry, can you please get Michelle out of the crib?"  
  
"Ah, I knew there was a reason why I wasn't settled down yet," sighed Lizzie.  
  
Lizzie could almost see her friend roll her eyes, "We'll get you settled down yet, Ms.McGuire, but you didn't answer my question."  
  
"I'll be flying in tomorrow, just in time for your anniversary party next week. Five years as Mrs. Larry Tudgeman, Miranda...congratulations we all lost the bet."  
  
"Oh, hush you! Anyways, you'll be just in time to help out with everything," Miranda replied smugly. .  
  
Lizzie sighed and echoed, "Just in time to help out with everything. I knew Maid of Honor's duties weren't as simple as they seemed. Be in pictures, walk down the aisle ahead of the bride, stand next to the bride, make a speech, and five years later come back to help out with the anniversary."  
  
"Lizzie!"  
  
"I'm just kidding!"  
  
After a few hesitated moments, the mother and wife said, "Are you sure you're okay with coming?"  
  
"Miranda..." she replied with a sigh. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, especially about something that happened a long time ago."  
  
"Hi Lizzie," said Larry leaning over to the phone as he carried his two- year-old daughter.  
  
"Hi Larry," she smiled.  
  
"She says 'hi'," said Miranda. "Do you want to talk to Michelle?"  
  
The conversation ended with Lizzie talking with Michelle. Or rather, Lizzie talking and Michelle spitting out a few words that sounded like "aunie lizard" and intermingled with gurgling noises. She talked briefly with Larry after that and confirmed the time he was supposed to pick her up at the airport tomorrow evening, and as she was three hours ahead in New York, Lizzie soon said her good-byes to get some rest.  
  
But when she hung up the phone and got ready for bed, she found herself lying on her pillows and unable to sleep. Truth be told, she wasn't okay with going home. She hadn't been home for a long time. Her parents took frequent trips to the East to visit her and the last time she had been in LA was when Matt had gotten married a few years back. It had been a small wedding and at the last-minute. Matt was going to get shipped off to Panama with his Marine Corps, and he and his girlfriend had decided at the spur of the moment to get hitched. So Lizzie had about 24 hours to fly to LA and 12 hours after landing to get back to work the next day.  
  
In other words, Gordo hadn't been there.  
  
She smiled to herself. He probably didn't even go by that childhood nickname anymore. Everyone in his life probably called him David.  
  
But he'd always be Gordo to her. At least, that's the name she had last called him by before they went their separate ways in college.  
  
They had attended USC together, he at film school and she working with business. Miranda had decided to attend CalArts and work on her performance arts. They had all been the best of friends throughout most of college, her and Gordo especially since they had attended the same university. They didn't always see each other. They had their own activities and their own friends, but each was always around for the other when needed.  
  
But at the end of those undergraduate years, Lizzie did something she had never meant to do.  
  
She had broken Gordo's heart.  
  
Lizzie had guessed a few times that there was a possibility that her best guy friend had seen her as more than just a friend. Even Miranda had put in her sly commentary throughout the years, but nothing had ever happened that reflected more than hints and possibilities. He never said anything to her, and she was unsure enough to have never brought it up.  
  
It certainly didn't result in either of them not dating other people. Gordo had various girlfriends throughout college and Lizzie had her various boyfriends, but it was one boyfriend in particular that changed everything.  
  
He had been Gordo's rival in the film classes. His name was Gary Lasco and he had been very charming. Gordo had said he hadn't minded Lizzie going out with him when she asked him about it, but he had lied it seemed. At first, she had thought that it would just be a few dates, but things with Gary became really serious and by the time they were seniors, she had been dating him for over a year. Lizzie very well thought that she loved Gary and that if things continued, she and him would possibly get married in the near future.  
  
The entire time, Gordo had been very cordial to Gary, but somewhere in the midst of everything, she realized that she didn't see her best friend as much as she had before. She realized that she hadn't seen much of him at all and that was why it seemed that Gordo accepted her boyfriend. Reality was that he accepted them by avoiding them.  
  
So she went to his apartment and confronted him, but she had confronted more than she had bargained for.  
  
She could almost hear their conversation echoing in her ears in the dark room. It had run through her head so many times throughout the years...  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
"I haven't been avoiding you because Gary's my so-called rival or whatever, Lizzie. He and I might not be the best of friends and we might be competitive in our classes, but I know he's a nice guy. Outside of class, there's none of that rivalry stuff."  
  
"Then Gordo, what's the problem? Why have I barely seen you in a year? You haven't even asked me constantly to help you with your movies. No inquiries about how to get money for the project, what to substitute something expensive for something less expensive..."  
  
"I just didn't want to bother you with that kind of stuff."  
  
"Gordo...I might complain, but I like it when you bother me with that kind of stuff. Remember? It makes me think that you're going to put me in your credits one day?"  
  
He chuckled. He hadn't put her name in the credits since she had actually been in his student films in high school, but ever since college and the discovery of free actors from the theatre school, he hadn't needed her acting abilities. So she answered questions for him off-camera, helped with some financing of the projects, but never anything to give a title.  
  
"Lizzie, I'm sorry I haven't been around much. Really, I am. I've been really busy. It's senior year. I've got projects. You know how it goes."  
  
"I do know how it goes, but I know something's wrong, Gordo. Why won't you tell me?"  
  
He was silent for a moment before he said, "Okay, Lizzie... but this isn't going to make you feel good and you can't change anything about it, but I'm telling you because at this point in time, I guess you deserve to know."  
  
She nodded, "Okay."  
  
His eyes averted hers as he spoke, "You're right. I am avoiding you. I have been avoiding you this entire time you've been with Gary. It's - It's because it hurts."  
  
"What?" she asked, not believing her ears.  
  
He paced around his apartment and looked her, "Lizzie, it hurts to see you around him and know that you're really happy. That for all intents and purposes, one day you might even marry the man."  
  
"Gordo, are you telling me what I think you're telling me?"  
  
"Why not say it?" he said to some invisible audience in the apartment. He walked closer to her and looked at her. Lizzie saw something familiar in his eyes, but at the same time, she encountered something all together new about that indefinable expression. After a moment he said, "I love you. I always have. I always will. I wasn't lying when I said that outside of class, Gary and I didn't have any rivalry. It's the truth because I see the way you look at him. There's no competition. You're never going to look at me like that. I know that what I just told you has no bearings because when you look at him, I hurt, and I can't make that stop. I thought I'd get used to it after awhile, but I haven't yet. I try. I see you guys around...and I think I can muster the courage to go up and act just like it was old times again, but the pain doesn't go away. That's why I avoid you, not because I hate Gary. It's because...I love you."  
  
"I - I don't know what to say," she replied haltingly.  
  
He shook his head and sighed, "There's nothing to say. There's nothing you can say that - "  
  
So she didn't say anything.  
  
She kissed him instead.  
  
It wasn't just any kiss. It was a hot, heady, knee-weakening, every-Gordo- fantasy-come-true kind of kiss.  
  
After awhile - a long while - the two pulled apart slowly and stared into each other's eyes as they breathed heavily.  
  
Lizzie tried to think of something to say, but her head was still somewhere in the clouds from the earlier moment, and before she could come down from those clouds, he kissed her.  
  
It was a sweet kiss, gentle and loving.  
  
They both stood in an oddly comfortable silence that was broken in a not so comforting way.  
  
"I can't do this, Gordo," she whispered.  
  
He looked at her, "What do you mean?"  
  
"I can't just throw away what I have with Gary."  
  
Gordo backed away from, "Then why did you kiss me? What...did you feel sorry for me?"  
  
Lizzie winced slightly at the edge in his tone, "No, Gordo. No. I didn't kiss you because I felt sorry for you. Far from it. You deserve someone else better than me."  
  
"Then why did you kiss me?"  
  
"I don't know. It felt right."  
  
"Maybe that's telling you something, Lizzie. Maybe you should go with that feeling?"  
  
She thought for a moment about what he said, but in her mind she saw Gary's face...she imagined his expression if she knew she had kissed Gordo. She imagined how hurt and sad he'd be...much like Gordo had been, but she'd been dating Gary for over a year. They had a relationship together. It was built on trust...and love, and she loved him. They could work out.  
  
She and Gordo? That was a different direction entirely, and she felt such guilt for kissing Gordo. It might have felt right, but it had been wrong to do so. She hadn't been thinking.  
  
Lizzie stepped away from Gordo, "I can't do this to Gary."  
  
"So you're going to throw me aside? Throw *me* away?" he said harshly, but beneath the sting of his tone, she knew he was hurting.  
  
"I'm not throwing you away, Gordo. You're my best friend. How could you even think that?" she asked. Her eyes watered. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She knew that the moment she started, she wouldn't be able to stop.  
  
"Because..." he said as he walked over to the door to his apartment and opened it. He let the door swing open and held it there with his foot. "I rather wish you would because I want you to leave."  
  
"But, Gordo, I - "  
  
He shook his head, "Just go." She grabbed her bag and walked out the door. Before she walked down the hall, she heard him continue, "And Lizzie?"  
  
"Yea, Gordo?"  
  
Not looking at her eyes he said, "Since we never see each other anyway. Maybe it'll be a good idea if we just don't."  
  
"But, Gordo..." Lizzie began.  
  
The door closed behind him.  
  
She turned around and walked slowly down the hall. She expected to hear the door open again, but no matter how slow she walked. It didn't. By the time she got to the stairs, the tears that she had kept inside wouldn't heed her control.  
  
She cried all the way home and for a long time after that.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Lizzie's heart ached at the memory.  
  
In hindsight, she knew it had been the biggest mistake of her life. She had taken the safe route where things had fallen into place so easily. She loved Gary, but she loved what he meant even more. She had love Gordo, but that was a love that she had never been able to comprehend. It just seemed unreal that he could have loved her so long and so much. It had to have been false...or so she let herself conclude. It was a conclusion that made reality a little less harsh...that she wasn't alone because she let someone slip away onto another way - far from her. She was alone because it hadn't been. It only existed in her imagination.  
  
Lizzie drowned herself in her thoughts. She was all alone. She lived in a large, upscale apartment in New York and she shared it with no one. Miranda had been married for five years. Yes, to Larry Tudgeman who was still as nerdy as ever, but he was wonderful man and he loved her best friend like no other person on earth. It was no wonder that her best friend loved him back and they were going to celebrate their fifth anniversary together in a week. She envied Miranda and Larry. She envied her parents who were still happily married. And even Matt had his band of Marine brothers and his family - including his wife - waiting for him at home.  
  
She obviously never married Gary. They were still good friends, but he had broken things off with her because he wanted to dedicate himself to his career. Lizzie had been headed to New York to work as it was and it just made sense. When it came down to it, the other reasons were just excuses. They loved each other, but it took them the excuses to admit that it was a love that was never meant to lead them to any road of being together forever. Gary made Lizzie see this clearly when she attended his wedding a few years ago. She had joked with him that he hadn't really wanted to work on his career since he obviously had been working his way in finding himself the woman of his dreams. Gary had moved to the East and was still working on films, but he hadn't been very successful yet, and he was working at a media web development firm on the side.  
  
And though things didn't work out between her and Gary, she never blamed herself for making Gary the reason why she broke things off with Gordo. She hadn't made him the reason. The one thing that never changed in hindsight was that she never would have wanted to hurt Gary that way. In that way, she knew she hadn't really made a mistake. She couldn't regret doing something that she could never have done to begin with. They were still good friends. Gary's wife, Pamela, was actually one of her best friends. That all would have never have been.  
  
Try as she might all these years, she never regretted kissing Gordo either. She knew it meant something, but while she knew her friendship with Gary at the time wouldn't have survived those circumstances, she had foolishly thought that her and Gordo - all their years together - would have meant something...could have kept on being something.  
  
She had been wrong. The only time she saw him was when she was with Gary at his graduation ceremony with the film school. Gordo, of course, was there. He had shook Gary's hand and wished him luck. He had stood right beside her and didn't even say a word to her.  
  
She would have seen him at Miranda's wedding, but circumstances proved otherwise. Larry had wanted Gordo to be his best man at his wedding. They had become good friends throughout high school. It was Gordo that had brought Larry and Miranda together. For all the circumstances, Lizzie knew Gordo would have put all differences aside and would have done so for Larry. Even if it meant being around her all the time. Gordo, however, was called away to work in another state that month. He had been doing work with a film company that traveled for much of the year to film and he couldn't get out of it. So he missed the wedding, but he had promised to give them something in five years when he was sure he'd be successful to make up for his lack of presence.  
  
So, of course, Gordo would be at the anniversary party. He was footing the bill for the entire thing.  
  
She supposed Gordo might have found someone by now. She could imagine how he'd be at the anniversary party. He would probably have some beautiful woman beside him. Miranda had told her that he was doing well and was working for a film company. Of course, in addition to that monetary success, he would have some beautiful woman who would hang on his arm all night, who would never be so willing to walk out of his life, who would kiss him and love him and know every single day that he was with the most wonderful person she could ever find.  
  
Some woman who would laugh at the woman who walked away.  
  
Some woman who would think it deserving that this same woman would be living in a huge apartment all alone.  
  
Some woman who would see her crying herself to sleep tonight and think she deserved it.  
  
No.  
  
Gordo would have found himself a better woman than that.  
  
Better than Lizzie McGuire.  
  
---- Please R/R! I would greatly appreciate the feedback. Thanks for reading! I know it's been a long chapter. 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Lizzie McGuire does not belong to me. She's a Disney-creation and they own the entire kit-and-caboodle. Let's hope they can get it to continue on a future path.  
  
Author's Notes: Thanks sooooo much for the great reviews! So for a thank you, I give you a *double* treat! TWO CHAPTERS! *And* because of my inability to upload to fanfiction.net servers, I give you an ADDITIONAL chapter to make THREE new chapters. Hope you guys enjoy!  
  
Another Way - Chapter Two  
  
By: Taygeta  
  
Lizzie exhaled deeply as she saw the plane descend toward the LAX airport runway. She bit her lower lip in worry. A billion different scenarios had entered into her head the entire plane ride. How she was going to meet him? When she was going to meet him? Who was he going to be with?  
  
"First time in LA, dear?" asked an older woman who had sat beside her quietly the entire trip.  
  
She looked up, "Oh, no. LA's home...I just haven't been back for a real visit in awhile. My brother got married last year and I came back to see that, but I had to fly to New York really quickly afterwards."  
  
"Oh. Well that's a pity, dear. You should make it a point to come home more often. I speak from experience when I say that it's when you go home when you've been gone that you get to really know yourself."  
  
Lizzie smiled, "I hope that's true."  
  
After the plane landed, Lizzie walked out with the rest of the moving crowd. She looked around for Larry and half-expected to see him wearing his green-striped shirt from junior high...all the while knowing that Miranda would have probably made me throw anything remotely green of Larry's into the trash when she married him.  
  
She spotted him easily though, and he was wearing a red shirt. His shirt, however, was not what she noticed. What she noticed was the sign that said "Lizzie" in black-marker and silver glitter.  
  
"Your artwork, Larry?" she said with a laughing smile when she walked toward him.  
  
"I had some time to kill," he said gesturing at his plastic bag with pens in it. He kissed her on the cheek and said, "Hello, Lizzie. It's been far too long."  
  
She smiled as she hooked her arm into his, "Always the gentleman. Miranda did well...even if I do make fun of her all the time."  
  
"I would think you would have no such just cause to do so," he said good- humoredly. "My wealth, my good looks, my oozing charm..."  
  
She patted his arm, "Let's just get my bags, Mr. Tudgeman."  
  
After they located Lizzie's luggage and gotten settled on their drive to Miranda and Larry's house, the two caught up on the last few years.  
  
"Are you still with IBM?" asked Lizzie.  
  
"Always and forever...hopefully," he said with a nod. "Miranda says that I took better wedding vows with my job than I did with her."  
  
She laughed, "I've heard that one...and that you're having an affair with someone not even human."  
  
"I love that woman," he said with a sigh.  
  
Lizzie couldn't help but smile. Larry had said such simple words in such an endearing manner. "I'm sure she shares the sentiments. I'm so happy that you and Miranda are so happy."  
  
"So are you still working with Ally Music?"  
  
Lizzie nodded, "I got a promotion a couple of years ago. I'm actually now the head of the financial department."  
  
Larry smiled, "Wow. That's incredible. Why didn't you tell us?"  
  
She shrugged, "It's not that big of a deal. Nothing too life changing. The money's good, but nothing too extreme."  
  
"Lizzie, you give yourself far too little credit. We miss you out here. If Miranda doesn't hear from you every so often, I swear she goes stir crazy.  
  
She smiled, "Well I miss you guys too."  
  
"Why don't you come back here? Live here...I mean. Ally has a LA office."  
  
She sighed, "I don't know Larry. I'm pretty settled in New York."  
  
He was silent for a moment and then asked, "Pretty settled in New York or is it because you have some unsettled business in LA?"  
  
Lizzie glanced at him, "I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Please. I may be still a nerd, but grant my intelligence some social credit. I know what happened with Gordo. He told me all about it."  
  
She blinked.  
  
"He did?" Then she attacked, "What did he say?!"  
  
Larry grimaced. He hated it when he said stupid things. "He just told me what happened...then told me...."  
  
"What?" she asked warily.  
  
"Then told me he never wanted to see you again."  
  
Lizzie grew silent, but somehow managed a "oh."  
  
"But this was a long time ago. I'm sure plenty has changed since then," he added hopefully.  
  
"Sure..." she echoed in a voice that had no hope at all.  
  
The rest of the drive to the Tudgeman home was rather silent. The silence was soon non-existent at the house, however.  
  
"Lizzie!!!" Miranda practically screamed when she saw her best friend again.  
  
Michelle was bouncing up and down in her high chair in the kitchen. The last time she had seen Aunt Lizzie was when she was one, and she didn't remember exactly, but she recalled some person over the phone with Lizzie's name.  
  
"Michelle, you're so big!" Lizzie cooed as she picked the baby up. The conversation in the car was soon forgotten as she lost herself in the eyes of her surrogate niece. "Oh, aren't you a sweetheart?"  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Lizzie put Michelle into her crib. She had taken over baby-sitting duties since the moment she had walked into the door. Larry and Miranda's little girl had taken to her quite nicely. Now Michelle was sleeping peacefully for the evening.  
  
The blonde baby-sitter/surrogate aunt sighed when she looked at her charge. She had to admit, she loved children. She always thought that she'd be married by now - or at least somewhere near the possibility of marriage, but no...there weren't many men in Lizzie's life. This was mostly due to lack of interest than for lack of trying. The one man she wanted apparently had no desire to ever see her again.  
  
"Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to have a little one like you, honey," she whispered.  
  
She walked out of Michelle's room and down the stairs where she heard Miranda and Larry talking in hushed voices.  
  
"I don't think we should tell her," said Larry adamantly.  
  
"Why not?" asked Miranda. "She deserves to know. We can't just spring this on her."  
  
"Miranda, she's going to hide. I accidentally told her what he told me..."  
  
"!Mi hombre se falta su mente!"  
  
"I'm sorry...I know...I wasn't thinking."  
  
Lizzie cleared her throat loudly.  
  
The married couple turned to look at her.  
  
"What's going on guys?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing...nothing at all," said Miranda with wide eyes.  
  
"Miranda..."  
  
Her best friend exhaled and announced, "Gordo's coming over."  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Lizzie stared at her reflection in the guest bathroom mirror.  
  
She looked older than her twenty-seven years. She hadn't slept well for weeks and her appetite had waned a bit. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. Lizzie supposed she was a bit depressed and preoccupied, but life was generally good and she knew that. The good parts of her life always drew her away from the bad, and the bad she knew was not really that bad. It was just that the little there was weighing on her mind...a lot, and for whatever reason, she couldn't control its hold on her.  
  
What was Gordo going to think of her? They hadn't seen each other in years, but she couldn't help but imagine that somehow Gordo would be the complete opposite to her disheveled self. He was always so levelheaded and never letting things around him bother him too much. His philosophy: there are other, better things to spend one's energy on.  
  
Lizzie had no energy at the moment. She was tired. The flight had worn her out and playing with Michelle hadn't helped with how she was feeling. It was three hours ahead in New York. She would be a couple of hours shy of bedtime, not a few minutes shy of dinner...especially not dinner with Gordo around.  
  
Miranda had said that Gordo had planned dinner with her and Larry the week before, but due to scheduling he had to cancel to the next week. They hadn't been sure when Lizzie would be flying in, but it was too late to cancel when it occurred to Miranda earlier that the dinner with Gordo coincided on the same day as Lizzie's arrival.  
  
Lizzie had half-a-mind to close the door and stay in the room, but she knew that action would be childish. She had to face eventually.  
  
Eventually just happened to be sooner than she had thought.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Gordo was pensive as he drove through the LA freeway.  
  
He had been a few seconds shy of making a lame excuse to skip out on dinner with the Tudgemans again when Miranda had mentioned Lizzie's presence. But Miranda was a fast talker and made some statement about Michelle and how she'd see him in an hour or so. She then hung up the phone and Gordo was left to mentally prepare himself to meet Lizzie again.  
  
One hour to prepare himself to meet the woman he had avoided seeing these last five years.  
  
One hour instead of one week.  
  
He hadn't expected that Lizzie would be arriving quite so early to the party. He was stupid for not anticipating that. It was obvious that Lizzie wouldn't just hop on the plane the day before the party.  
  
And now his stupidity had brought him to this and he was beside himself.  
  
"What the hell am I going to do? What the hell am I going to say?" he muttered to himself as he got on the off-ramp.  
  
The same questions echoed in his mind as he drove through the residential streets toward the Tudgeman home. Gordo half-wished that he could be wearing one of his Armani suits and that he was talking them all to a fancy restaurant. At least then he would make an obvious impression. It was the part of him that wanted Lizzie McGuire to know what she had given up. But the other half of him was glad that it was a casual dinner at a local restaurant. Gordo was in comfort clothes: a pair of worn jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt. The clothes made him feel less nervous, less anxious, and most importantly, more himself. It was the part of him that wanted Lizzie McGuire to remember who she had known for so long.  
  
As he parked his car, he wondered why he had stopped his impulse to ask Gretchen to go with him. She wasn't busy this evening so far as he knew, but when he started to dial her number, he stopped.  
  
He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to see Lizzie without her.  
  
When he stopped at the door, he took a deep breath.  
  
Then, he rang the doorbell. 


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Lizzie ain't mine folks. If it were, it'd be on my broadcast tv more now that I don't have cable for the summer!  
  
Another Way - Chapter Three By: Taygeta  
  
"Gordo," greeted Larry.  
  
"Tudgeman, how are things going with you?" said Gordo as he walked into the house.  
  
"Good. Life is good," he replied. "Miranda and...um...Lizzie will be right down. They're getting Michelle's things."  
  
"Oh, okay," said Gordo with a weak grin.  
  
Larry glanced at him, "You okay?"  
  
"Yea...mostly."  
  
They heard the jingling of baby things from upstairs. Miranda handed Lizzie a bag as she held Michelle.  
  
"Are you okay, Lizzie?" she asked as she glanced downstairs.  
  
Lizzie had avoided looking at the figures downstairs.  
  
"Yea...kind of."  
  
Miranda gave her a supportive smile, "It'll be fine."  
  
They walked down the stairs and two people saw each other for the first time in five years.  
  
Lizzie observed that Gordo had grown more handsome than she last remembered. He looked fit and put together. He matched the self-assured image she had carried of him all these years.  
  
Gordo's eyes took in Lizzie as she walked down the stairs. She looked tired and thinner than she should have been. Despite all the animosity he had held against her in these past years, he felt concern for her. Yet, she was still beautiful. Lizzie McGuire was always beautiful.  
  
It was Lizzie found the courage to speak first, "Hi Gordo. How are you?"  
  
He nodded, "Good. I'm doing very well. Yourself?"  
  
She smiled, "A little worn from today's travels, but doing well."  
  
There was a silence between the two that was quickly broken by Michelle who was crying.  
  
"Well I think that's a sign that it's time for dinner," said Miranda cheerfully.  
  
They walked out of the house and Miranda had another thought, "Well, all of us in Larry's car would be quite a sardine-can situation. Why don't you take Lizzie in your car and we'll just meet you guys at the restaurant? If I had known I would have just told you to meet us at the restaurant, Gordo."  
  
Gordo gave his old friend a wary look, "Well, Miranda, so much for hindsight."  
  
She smiled. When Miranda glanced at Lizzie she saw that her best girl friend was turning a bit pale. Her smile faded.  
  
"Lizzie?"  
  
Gordo glanced over at his former best friend and moved to steady her unbalanced figure.  
  
"Lizzie, are you okay?" he asked with concern.  
  
"I'm fine. I'm just - "  
  
For Lizzie, the world went black. She fainted.  
  
Gordo caught her.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
He sat in the room watching her.  
  
It had been a few hours and she hadn't woken up yet. He had volunteered to be at the hospital. Miranda had to take Michelle home after awhile and Larry had a meeting in the morning. He told them he had nothing the next day so that they would leave without concern, but he had a meeting in the morning too. He called Mr. Gessler and told him the situation. Mr. Gessler told him that he'd be fine in the meeting and that there was no need for concern about missing it.  
  
So Gordo sat in the room waiting for her to wake up.  
  
After a few tests, the doctor had said that she was fine. She was probably just exhausted and that it would be best to just keep her at the hospital until she woke up.  
  
Gordo sat in the room watching her. He felt unsettled at the fact that he could probably have sat there watching her sleep forever.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
The light was bright...too bright.  
  
Lizzie winced when she opened her eyes. Her wince turned into an expression of surprise as she saw Gordo sitting in a chair in the room. She half-wondered if it was a dream, but then she realized what had happened.  
  
She had fainted. All other details were blurry.  
  
"Lizzie, you're awake," he said with a smile.  
  
She nodded. Her mouth felt dry and she somehow managed to croak, "What happened exactly? I just remember blacking out."  
  
"You fainted," He explained. "The doctor said you were probably exhausted."  
  
"Oh..." she looked around. "Where are Miranda and Larry?"  
  
Gordo glanced at his watch, "They left hours ago. They had to take Michelle home and Larry had a meeting that he couldn't miss in the morning."  
  
"Oh," she said. Then she paused, "Hours? What time is it?"  
  
"Almost three," he replied.  
  
She looked at him, "Why are still here?"  
  
He looked surprise, "We couldn't just leave you here to wake up by yourself."  
  
"I would have been okay," she said as she tried to get off the bed and finding that her body felt like lead.  
  
Gordo walked over to her and stopped her from trying to move further, "Lizzie, maybe you shouldn't get out of bed so quickly."  
  
She tried to get up again, "I just - I don't want to be any more trouble." Finding the entire process exhausting, she stopped her efforts to move and said, "You can go, Gordo. I'll be fine. I'm sure you have work tomorrow too."  
  
He shook his head, "I called my boss a few hours ago. He knows I'm not coming into the office tomorrow."  
  
Lizzie said softly, "You didn't have to. You could have gone. I'm okay."  
  
Gordo gave her an incredulous look, "Lizzie, you can't even get out of bed. This reminds me of when we were eight and you got the stomach flu and you couldn't go to our museum trip. So you snuck over to my house to sneak into my mom's car, only to give me the stomach flu."  
  
She smiled at the memory. "All the more reason for you to have gone home. I might be contagious."  
  
"Somehow I doubt exhaustion is contagious."  
  
A nurse named Sheri walked into the room. She grinned, "I see the patient's awake. Had a nice nap, dear?"  
  
Lizzie smiled, "I think I could use some more nap time."  
  
"That's the spirit of things," said Sheri. "You wore yourself out. You need to slow down and get rest. Your boyfriend here tells me you're here to visit him for a week. I suggest you spend that time sleeping instead of, well...you know what I mean..." The nurse gave her a wink and gave her a shot. "That should help you out a bit."  
  
All the while Lizzie gave the nurse a silent nod while her eyes glanced at Gordo expressing, "What the hell is she talking about?"  
  
When the nurse left the first words out of Lizzie's mouth was, "Gordo, what the hell was she talking about?"  
  
"Well...they wouldn't let me stay on the reason that you were a friend from out of town, so when the next shift nurse came by and told me to leave, I told her you were my long-distance girlfriend and you had just flew in from out of town," he said.  
  
"Oh," she said. She felt herself grow drowsy and rested her head on her pillow.  
  
"As long as Gretchen doesn't get wind of the story, I figure, no harm and no foul," he added.  
  
"Gretchen?"  
  
"My girlfriend," said Gordo, surprised. He thought Lizzie knew about her.  
  
She smiled. So he did have a girlfriend. She knew Miranda had been evasive about that question for a reason. It had a valid person behind it.  
  
"She won't know," said Lizzie finding herself more and more tired.  
  
Before she fell into another spell of sleep, Gordo heard her say, "She's a very lucky girl...Gretchen."  
  
He looked at Lizzie and saw her breathing become steady.  
  
He wondered what Gretchen would say if she knew where he was. She had already heard the Lizzie McGuire story and Gretchen didn't like the title character of the story all that much...more like, not at all.  
  
Gretchen wouldn't have liked that he was standing there. That he had been sitting watching another woman - Lizzie McGuire of all people - sleep for hours. She especially wouldn't have liked to know that he hadn't wanted to leave the entire time.  
  
There was always something about being by Lizzie McGuire's side that almost felt natural to him. He had been there beside her for so many years of his life.  
  
And even after a five-year absence, he somehow found himself back there again. 


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: "Lizzie McGuire" does not belong to me. I'd be far well off if it did, but I'm not. It's Disney's.  
  
Another Way - Chapter Four  
  
By: Taygeta  
  
Lizzie stared out her window. She was back at the Tudgeman house after her overnight stay at the local hospital. Gordo had dropped her off at the house in the morning. There was an oddly comfortable atmosphere between them.  
  
They didn't mention his girlfriend or their jumbled history, but they acted very much like they were...friends. It was strange for Lizzie to think that just yesterday it had been five years since they had last really seen each other.  
  
She sighed.  
  
She was still tired. Gordo had asked her what had happened to make her so tired. She just told him that there was a lot of work that she had to do and so she hadn't been sleeping much or very well. What she said had been the truth, but she knew that the additional strain of worrying about meeting him again had been great. In hindsight, everything had worked out fine and she hadn't needed to worry about anything. But always, hindsight couldn't change things that already happened.  
  
"Lizzie, hon, are you okay?" asked Miranda walking into the room slowly. "Do you need anything?"  
  
She shook her head, "I'm all right, Miranda."  
  
"What happened? Why were so exhausted? If we had known..."  
  
"Miranda, I didn't know I was so exhausted. It just caught up to me. I've had lots of work these past few months. I haven't been sleeping much...that's all."  
  
"This doesn't have anything to do with Gordo?"  
  
"Not specifically," Lizzie confessed. "I don't know Miranda. Coming here...it seemed like such a big deal...the whole 'seeing Gordo' again thing, but now that I've seen him and talked to him...it wasn't so bad. I think...I think we're even almost friends."  
  
"Have you guys talked about it?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"Well it's only been 24 hours...God, you work fast."  
  
Lizzie paused and gave Miranda, "And what is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Five years at not being friends...two hours you're like the best of friends again," said Miranda jokingly. "I saw you two when he brought you in. It was like junior high and high school all over again. Keep this up and well..."  
  
Lizzie rolled her eyes, "Miranda, you never change. You were always dropping your hints about Gordo and me throughout it all. If anything, Mrs. Tudgeman, since you failed to inform me yourself, should I remind you that our Mr. Gordon has a girlfriend?"  
  
Miranda was surprised, "How did you know?"  
  
"He told me," said Lizzie with a slightly sad smile. "Gretchen Reese, huh? She sounds pretty."  
  
"She's a really nice person," supplemented the other. "She's not you though."  
  
"He loves her," said Lizzie. "I know that. He didn't tell me, but I could tell. I'm not trying for anything Miranda. I think that was what was bothering me the most before I arrived. I wondered if I would, but it seems that all the answers were already here waiting to be answered for me."  
  
She shrugged, "You can never be too sure, Lizzie. You're not a mind reader."  
  
"No, but I know that sometimes it's best to just accept things at face- value. I've missed Gordo over the years. I'd rather keep some semblance of a friendship with him than nothing at all. I'll take what I can have."  
  
"Maybe you should take the week after the party to have a real vacation away from this mayhem? Take some time to be alone."  
  
Lizzie gave a short laugh, "But that's the problem, Miranda. I'm always alone."  
  
"You know, that problem could be easily readied if someone would just move back home," said the brunette.  
  
"You know I can't do that."  
  
"Why not? Ally has an LA branch."  
  
"I know...but transferring locations like that isn't easy, and I'm not sure if that's the best thing for me. I just have a lot to deal with Miranda. It has nothing to do with a lack of friends however. I know you're always a phone call away when I need you."  
  
Miranda smiled and gave her a friend a hug, "I miss hanging out with you though. I know I'm married and I'm a mom, but I need some downtime too."  
  
"Five years, Miranda...it just seems like yesterday I went to your wedding."  
  
"Well, I think Michelle's evidence that I didn't get married just yesterday," she said with a laugh.  
  
"True..."  
  
"One day Lizzie, we'll have this same kind of conversation, except it'll be about you."  
  
The blonde sighed and smiled, "I hope so."  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Gordo, where were you last night?" Gretchen asked when they met for coffee at noon. "I called you at about eleven and you didn't pick up the phone."  
  
thought Gordo.  
  
"Well..." he began. "My friend from out of town came to visit Miranda and Larry. She's going to be at their engagement party next week. So I was going to go out to dinner with all three of them. We were about to leave when she just fainted. I guess she's been overworking herself to the point of exhaustion. We didn't know what was wrong so we had to take her to the hospital. Miranda couldn't stay because of Michelle and Larry had a really important meeting in the morning. So I had to stay with her."  
  
"Oh," said Gretchen sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear about that. Is she okay now?"  
  
"I dropped her off this morning and she seems a lot better. She's got a good head on her shoulders, so I'm sure it will all work out just fine."  
  
"That's good to hear," she replied. "So what's her name? What exactly does she do? It must be a frightful job to have her in this state."  
  
thought Gordo.  
  
"She's the head of finance of a record company based in New York. She told me there have been some financial difficulties and mergers going and all kinds of things, so it's been a really difficult last few months," he explained, and then added, "She's my friend Lizzie from college."  
  
Gretchen dropped her coffee spoon in her cup, "Lizzie? You mean...the girl you've officially despised for the past five years?"  
  
"Well...despise is a pretty harsh word..."  
  
"Gordo..."  
  
"You can't really continue to hate a person who you had to take to the hospital," said Gordo. He rationalized, "Gretchen, she's my childhood friend, and we didn't talk about what happened in the past."  
  
"What if it comes up though? I mean, I don't want you to have this false sense that you're friends with her and then it all falls to pieces. I know how much she hurt you, Gordo...I wouldn't want her to do something like that again."  
  
"Maybe it will. Maybe it won't. She and I will deal with it if it does or doesn't," he said. He pu this hand over hers and continued, "At least we don't have to worry about her breaking my heart."  
  
Gretchen smiled warmly.  
  
Gordo hoped it was a true statement for her sake...and for his. 


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: The "Lizzie McGuire" television show does not belong to me. It is a Disney-product.  
  
Another Way - Chapter Five By: Taygeta  
  
Lizzie heard her cell phone ring. She hoped it wasn't anyone at Ally Records. They said they wouldn't call her on her vacation, but she had the sinking feeling that they would if they really felt that they needed to.  
  
The number on the caller id wasn't familiar, but it was in the Los Angeles area.  
  
"Hello?" she asked.  
  
"Hi Lizzie, this is Gordo."  
  
She blinked. She had seen Gordo a few times since the hospital trip. He was always asking Larry and Miranda about plans for the party and whatnot. He was always cordial to her and they had an odd exchange of words that might be considered a conversation. But she didn't think he'd ever call her...she didn't even know how he had her cell phone number.  
  
"Oh, hi Gordo. When did you get my cell phone number?"  
  
"I got it from your mom. Your house phone number hasn't changed all this time. I would have asked Miranda, but then she would have been suspicious. That's the main reason why I didn't call the house phone. Wait...is anyone around right now?"  
  
"No. Larry's at work and Miranda went to the grocery store," she said, still confused. "What's with all the secrecy? What's going on?"  
  
"I was wondering if you would mind helping me out with a surprise for Larry and Miranda."  
  
She laughed, "You mean this whole party isn't enough?"  
  
"Well I caught the wedding on video when I came back from my trip and there was something in the video that gave me a good idea to add to this whole party. Lizzie, do you remember what you did for their wedding reception?"  
  
"Ooh..." she said as her confusion faded away.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Gordo stood up and tapped on his glass. He was at the main table with Larry, Miranda, Lizzie, Gretchen, and the parents of Miranda and Larry. The small ballroom of the Four Seasons hotel was filled with tables of guests. The anniversary party was large than the wedding...and far more elaborate than Miranda and Larry had ever thought it would be.  
  
They looked up with beaming faces when Gordo stood up.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said into a wireless microphone that a waiter had handed to him, "I thank you all for joining us in celebration of Miranda Sanchez and Larry Tudgemen's five years of marriage. The food you eat, the room you sit in, are all reflections of my guilt of lack of attendance and participation five years ago...so be sure to attend the weddings of your best friends or...well, you might find yourself throwing quite the party five years later."  
  
The guests laughed.  
  
"I hope you are all enjoying yourselves and are as happy as I am about this milestone that Miranda and Larry have reached in their marriage. May all couples that wed be as happy as these two dear friends of mine."  
  
The guests raised their glass with Gordo's, and he sat down. He turned the microphone off and put it on the table.  
  
The chattering of the room built up again as the waiters brought dessert out to the guests.  
  
"Gordo, thank you so much," said Miranda. "This is beautiful. You really didn't have to."  
  
He laughed, "I wanted to. I'm really sorry I couldn't be there at your wedding, but I am glad I can give you this. The anniversary presents to follow.... might be more in the lines of a box with a piece of coal in it once I get the bill for this, but just remember this and knew that I once loved you both enough to be really stupid." He winked.  
  
Larry laughed, "Somehow I think we'll forgive you."  
  
Gordo smiled and then glanced at Lizzie. His eyes talked to her and she gave her head a slight nod.  
  
Standing up again, Gordo grabbed the microphone.  
  
Larry and Miranda looked up at him in confusion.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, trying to get the room to quiet down. "I'm sorry for this second interruption, but I know the reason will be something you won't be in the least bit sorry about. First off, I'd like to thank the Red Millers for their musical contributions to our evening."  
  
The guests clapped as the band acknowledged their applause.  
  
"Secondly, for those who attended the Tudgeman wedding five years ago, you will all find this very memorable. For those who didn't attend the wedding, this will be quite and enjoyable treat for you. Lizzie McGuire, who was the Maid of Honor, sang a beautiful song that she had written for the couple. Tonight, I've asked her to provide us all with an encore performance of 'You and I'."  
  
Miranda glanced at Lizzie and smiled widely. Larry beamed with her. They only heard that song on the wedding film. Neither had heard it since they last saw the videotape, which had been a while ago.  
  
Lizzie stood up as the guests cheered. She stood on the stage where the band was placed and looked out into the crowd. She saw the members of her own table, but she also saw her own family seated nearby looking up at her. Her parents had aged a bit since she had left, but they looked at her with the same proud faces as they had five years before.  
  
The piano player in the band played a simple melodic opening and the band continued with a slow jazzy beat.  
  
Larry stood up and extended his hand to Miranda who placed her hand on his and stood up. Hand-in-hand, they walked to the dance floor and began to dance to their song.  
  
With a smile, Lizzie began to sing, "How did we get here? You and I...weren't we just dreamers flying in some imaginary sky? How did you let me be dreaming beside you about you when you were dreaming of me? You kissed me once, you kissed me twice, and I just fell in love...in a kind of love that one never falls out of. You...you...beautiful you...how did you lead me here?"  
  
As she sang, other couples followed to the dance floor...even Gretchen and Gordo.  
  
As Gordo danced with Gretchen he looked up at Lizzie who smiled at him. He smiled back. He hadn't danced with Lizzie since prom nearly ten years ago. He hadn't heard her sing for almost six years...not counting the wedding video of Miranda and Larry. Time had passed them by so quickly.  
  
"Ooh...do I deserve this kind of dream come true? Oh, baby...ooh baby...oh, I do. Because a love like mine can meet a love like yours any time of day. Don't need to ask how we got here...don't need to know those invisible steps taken while walking in daydreams. Don't need to know what this is all...that's all just the details that don't matter...'cause you are all that matters. You and I...weren't we just dreamers flying in some imaginary sky? Now you stay so long...now you're here forever more. And I'm gonna love you for the rest of my dreams.... with all of my heart...with all of this breath that will ever come from me. How did we get here? I don't really know. But now that we've gotten here. I'm never gonna let go. You and I...we're still dreamers, but now we're dreaming together for the rest of our lives. It's just you and I."  
  
When Lizzie finished singing, the couples stopped dancing and cheered.  
  
Gordo walked over to the stage and took a microphone from the band. From the dance floor with Gretchen beside him, he said, "Ladies and gentleman, Lizzie McGuire."  
  
"That's my daughter!" Sam McGuire said from the audience.  
  
Lizzie smiled, "Thank you."  
  
As she walked off stage, she noticed all the couples that were returning to their seats.  
  
She felt more alone than ever.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
"That was a beautiful performance," said Gretchen after the party was over. "Gordo tells me you work for a recording company?"  
  
Lizzie smiled at her warmly, "I work in finance for a recording company. Singing has just been a hobby of mine."  
  
"In any case, I think you're very talented. If you ever need an entertainment lawyer to represent you, here's my card," she said handing her a thick white business card.  
  
Lizzie glanced at the card that read "Gretchen Anne Reese, Attorney at law."  
  
"I thought you were an actress?" she said with a confused expression.  
  
"I am," she said. "But a girl needs a day job."  
  
Lizzie smiled, "Well, thank you. If I ever get into the business, I'll look you up."  
  
"Always looking for new clients," said Gordo throwing his arm over Gretchen's shoulders. "That's my girl."  
  
She smiled and gave a light shrug, "I try. Should we go now?"  
  
Gordo nodded, "Will you be staying here longer, Lizzie? I mean, in LA."  
  
"A few more days and back to New York and work for me."  
  
"Well in case I don't see you, have a good trip home," he said, and then after a slight pause of thought, he gave her a hug. Into her ear he said, "Don't work too hard now, okay?"  
  
She smiled, "I'll try. Thanks. Maybe we can all have dinner again - Gretchen, you too, of course - before I leave. I promise I won't faint."  
  
Gordo and Gretchen smiled. He said, "I hope we can. We'll see you soon then Lizzie."  
  
Lizzie sat down on her chair and watched the smiling couple leave the ballroom. She felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned around to see her mother.  
  
"Hi Mom."  
  
Jo McGuire gave her daughter a hug, "You were wonderful tonight."  
  
"Thank you," she said. "I hadn't sung in so long. Thank God, Gordo asked me to sing days before the party so I could practice."  
  
"When Gordo called, I had half-a-mind to call out 'Lizzie, Gordo's on the phone,'" laughed Jo. She sighed, "He hadn't called the house in years. Always sent your father and I birthday presents, however. He was always a nice young man."  
  
Her daughter nodded, "That's Gordo."  
  
"He seems very happy with that young lady that accompanied him tonight," Jo said with a suggestive hint in her voice.  
  
Lizzie glanced at her mother, "He is. I'm very happy for him. She's a very beautiful and accomplished person. They're great together."  
  
"You know, you're beautiful and accomplished too," said Jo.  
  
"I think you're a little bias, Mom."  
  
"I'd vouch for her," supplemented Sam who sat down beside his wife and daughter.  
  
Lizzie laugh, "I think you're more bias, Dad."  
  
"Nothing wrong with a little honesty," he said with a grin.  
  
His daughter sighed and then asked, "Have you guys heard from Matt?"  
  
"Oh, he's having the time of his life," said Sam. "What I find amazing is how difficult it is to think of him as being so disciplined..."  
  
They all laughed.  
  
"Well, it goes to show you that things change and even Matt can grow up," she said. "How's Hannah?"  
  
"Hannah's doing well," said Jo about her daughter-in-law. "She's still working on her MBA. She should be done in about another year."  
  
"That's good. I should stop and see her before I leave."  
  
Sam glanced at his watch, "As much as we love you, Lizzie, your mother and I really have to go back. It's a long drive back from here."  
  
"Okay," she said kissing her parents on their cheeks. "I'll come by tomorrow to visit."  
  
"We'll see you then," said Mrs. McGuire giving her daughter a hug.  
  
Lizzie sat and watched her parents walk out of the ballroom. The guests were fewer in number now. Most had left. She stayed behind to wait for Miranda and Larry who were saying good-bye to everyone and thanking them for coming.  
  
They looked so incredibly happy, and she was happy for them.  
  
That seemed to be her lot in life: to be happy for everyone in love because she couldn't be happy for herself in that same sphere. 


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Disney owns the "Lizzie McGuire" television show and all its details. They are not mine.  
  
Author's Note: Thank you all for such great reviews! I hope this next chapter meets your liking!  
  
Another Way - Chapter Six By: Taygeta  
  
Miranda sat with Michelle on the swing porch. Lizzie sat beside her. It was a lazy afternoon and they had spent the day at the McGuire home. Hannah had stopped by earlier to give them an update on Matt, and Lizzie got Miranda to tell Hannah about the time in junior high when Matt was "in love" with her. Matt's wife had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard by the time she drove home.  
  
"It's been so long, Lizzie," she said.  
  
Lizzie nodded as she absently played with Michelle's little hand, "Sometimes I wish we could just go back to those days, you know? Go back to the days when having a crush on Ethan Craft was the biggest deal in the history of the world..."  
  
Miranda laughed, "Ethan Craft. He's marketing his own hair gel and other hair products now."  
  
She paused, "Craft's Sculptinator?"  
  
"That's the one."  
  
"Interesting."  
  
"Kate's running the business. Ethan's the face."  
  
"I'll never forgive Kate for not inviting me to her wedding," said Lizzie.  
  
"Well, that's why she's running Ethan's business...her husband left her."  
  
Lizzie's eyes widened, "When was this?"  
  
"A few months ago," said Miranda. "She felt so bad, she called me. I was like 'I'm sorry about all that Kate...why aren't you talking to Lizzie about this?'"  
  
"What did she say?"  
  
"She didn't remember your phone number."  
  
"Oh. In any case, I'm sorry to hear about Kate's marriage. Do you know what happened?"  
  
"Younger woman or something like that," shrugged Miranda. "We're only 27...I don't know how young she must have been to make Kate look old."  
  
"At least she has Ethan's business as a distraction."  
  
"Yea..." said Miranda.  
  
"How's Ethan's wife liking the whole 'Kate's running my husband's business' thing?"  
  
"As long as she has her closet full of DKNY, she doesn't really care. Poor Ethan. I mean, Kate steps all over him, but at least she's sort of doing it for him."  
  
"Right," said Lizzie. "Well I was feeling kind of sorry for my own lack of a love life, but I guess Ethan and Kate aren't fairing well either."  
  
Miranda glanced at her best friend, "Lizzie...don't feel sorry for your lack of a love life. We'll find you someone and we'll all go to your wedding...and I'll be your Matron of Honor..."  
  
She laughed, "I think you have more of my wedding planned out than me!"  
  
"Probably...though I had always imagined it would be Gordo's wedding I'd be planning at the same time," said Miranda looking carefully at Lizzie.  
  
She gave her Miranda a weak smile, "Well, don't count on that. I think we'll be seeing wedding invitations from David Gordon and Gretchen Reese in a few months time."  
  
"Gordo's moved on, Lizzie. Maybe you should too."  
  
"You mean the number one fan of Lizzie and Gordo has given up the pursuit?"  
  
She sighed, "I just want you both to be happy. If it's not with each other than as long as you two are happy...I'm happy."  
  
"I know, Miranda. I haven't been waiting for him or anything. I mean, I grant you there's a part of me that wondered if, when meeting him again, if there was even a chance. But the moment I saw Gretchen...the moment I saw Gordo with her. I knew that there wasn't a chance. At least, it seems like he's forgiven me for what happened...for not letting go of Gary at the time."  
  
"Does he even know that you guys aren't together anymore?"  
  
Lizzie shrugged, "At the party, Gretchen asked me if I was seeing anyone and I told her I wasn't. Gordo seemed interested to hear about that, but he didn't ask me anything about it. Gretchen said something about introducing me to an actor friend in New York who she promises isn't gay."  
  
"That's Gretchen," said Miranda with a sigh. "I think she's worried."  
  
"Worried?"  
  
"She knows how much Gordo loved you."  
  
The words stung Lizzie more than she had expected. Not "loves," but "loved" - past tense.  
  
"Then she'd also know that was a long time ago...and that's where it is."  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
The night air was warm as they walked along the beach.  
  
Miranda, Gordo, Lizzie, and Larry had finished dinner at a restaurant by the beach and decided to take stroll down. Larry, holding a sleeping Michelle in his arms, walked beside his wife, holding her hand. They were a few yards ahead of Lizzie and Gordo.  
  
"I'm sorry that Gretchen couldn't make it," said Lizzie.  
  
"She's sorry too, but she has a big case in Texas so she had to fly out a couple of days ago. She's out of town a lot, but then so am I."  
  
"That must be difficult."  
  
"It can be, but we make sure to see each other as much as possible. We work in the same area, so we can always see each other for lunch or for dinner when we're both in town," explained Gordo. After a moment he asked, "So what about you? Any man in your life?"  
  
She smiled softly, "No. Hasn't been for awhile."  
  
He took a deep breath. It had to come up sometime: "Whatever happened to Gary?"  
  
"We broke up after college. He and I weren't right for each other. We were going to be in two different locations. He got married a few years ago. His wife is one of my best friends. She's often in New York for work, so we see each other a lot. Gary currently is working with development of media on the web. He's doing movies on the side, but you know how difficult that can be."  
  
"Yea, I know. Tell him to send me something. I'd be happy to look at it. Help him out a bit," said Gordo.  
  
Lizzie smiled, "He'd really like that. Thank you." She added in trying nonchalance, "You and Gretchen planning on getting married?"  
  
"We've only been seeing each other for almost four months. It's a possibility, but it's still 'wait and see'."  
  
"I think she's wonderful. I'm glad for you."  
  
He smiled, "Thanks. She is. You know, about her giving you her card...why don't you pursue it?"  
  
"That was a random switch of topic," said Lizzie. She shrugged, "I've got a very comfortable living, Gordo. Trying to become some American Idol's not that secure."  
  
"That job is wearing you down Lizzie. You don't have to quit...you can just see if it can be an option. You really are very good. You do work for a record company after all. I'm sure you know someone."  
  
"It's not that easy, Gordo. I know people, sure, but it's not very professional for me to say, 'hey, can you set me up for an audition?'"  
  
"True," said Gordo. "In any case, if you can...I think you should. I've always loved it when you sang."  
  
Lizzie glanced at Gordo and wondered at that compliment. She gave him an appreciative smile, "Thank you. I've always loved it when you didn't sing."  
  
"I had a cold that day," he argued.  
  
She was referring to a day in sixth grade when they had a chorus class. Gordo had to sing one solo-line and it wasn't pretty.  
  
"Let me show you," he said. She looked at him skeptically as he cleared his throat. In a smooth baritone voice, he sang, "How did we get here? You and I...weren't we just dreamers flying in some imaginary sky..."  
  
Lizzie applauded, "Very nice."  
  
"That should be your first single," he decided.  
  
She laughed, "We'll see."  
  
Their laughter faded and they looked at each other in silence for a moment.  
  
They heard Larry call out to them, "Guys, ready to go?"  
  
Gordo smiled, "Ready to leave?"  
  
"No, not quite yet," she said not moving her gaze.  
  
And for a second, Gordo wondered...  
  
But then she turned away and then looked at the ocean, "But I guess we really do have to go." 


	7. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: "Lizzie McGuire" isn't mine. It belongs to Disney. I make up these stories without any monetary compensation...only the joy of writing them and the happy-happy feedback I get back (hopefully *G*!)  
  
Dedication: To Jess, starzygirl, Julz, lizzie-fan, Nimrodel, Baby Bunnie, Rainbow Princess, Karly, and Kobe-Mac for such wonderful reviews for chapter six.  
  
Author's Note to Karly: All I can hint for you is the word "Patience" (.  
  
Another Way - Chapter Seven By: Taygeta  
  
"Ms. McGuire, how was your trip?" inquired Herbertha Grey, Lizzie's assistant, when her boss arrived into the office after her two weeks off.  
  
The blonde executive smiled, "It was great. Got some rest, saw some old friends, visited my family...the whole shebang."  
  
"That's good to hear," said Bertha closing the door of Lizzie's spacious office. "God knows, you needed the break. Though...."  
  
The peppy expression on her assistant's face altered to one slightly gloomier.  
  
Lizzie sat down on her leather chair and looked warily at her, "Bertha...what's wrong...?"  
  
"I didn't want to bother you while you were out, but you know we haven't settled the financial issues and...."  
  
"I know...I know..." said Lizzie, "I already discussed this with them when I left. We all decided we needed to step away from it all before we could head back into it again. But what else is the matter?"  
  
"There's talk that that wasn't a good idea," Bertha whispered. "I mean, I know I'm not exactly high on the company ladder, here, Ms. McGuire, but I've just been hearing so many things..."  
  
"Are you saying that they're thinking of firing me? What about the other people on this merger?"  
  
"They've been on the job longer...and I heard someone saying something about you might not being as qualified as Mr. Brooks...and maybe he shouldn't step down from the job."  
  
"Oh..." said Lizzie as she bit her bottom lip. "How long have you been hearing this, Bertha?"  
  
The assistant began hesitantly, "Ever since this all started..."  
  
The blonde exhaled and said under her breath, "Oh God..."  
  
"They heard about what happened in LA, by the way," the assistant continued.  
  
"Of course..." she said. Lizzie gave Bertha a weak smile, "You're just full of good news today, aren't you?"  
  
"I'm sorry...I didn't want your first day back to be like this, but I thought you should know. I mean...I guess it'll all get settled once the money matters settle down a bit."  
  
"I know Mr. Brooks is far more qualified to be in my job than I am, especially considering all the years he's spent with OriginalMix Records. Have you heard anything about him wanting to take the job - my job that will happen after all this is settled?"  
  
"Not really. Nothing from Mr. Brooks - just some talk about maybe they should have offered it to him instead and see if he would take it."  
  
"But they assumed he'd retire...so they didn't."  
  
Bertha supplemented, "I'm sure it's just the head honchos and their financial jitters, Ms. McGuire. I'm sure these are just stupid rumors...and I shouldn't have told you them. Mina Biegler probably spread them...not to spread gossip myself."  
  
Lizzie sighed at the mention of the name Mina Biegler. Mina had been the second person who was considered for Lizzie's current job with Ally Records before all the merger zaniness. Mina was older and slightly more experienced than Lizzie, but her fatal flaw was that she wasn't very nice. They hadn't hired her because of her less-than-amiable ways. Our blonde executive, on the other hand, was well liked by everyone...at least, until recent events.  
  
OriginalMix Records was merging with Ally Records. Ally had bought out OriginalMix and its artists in the past year or so. The merger appeared simple, but it was really a financial mess - one in which everyone expected Lizzie to handle.  
  
There was a part of the head of finance that wanted to quit...that thought she should be afraid of the rumors, but her more confident self prevailed over all the whispers and the suggestions. She knew that it would only take a few more days of number crunching and lack of sleep and then it would be all gone.  
  
She wondered how it would look if she took another vacation after that as Miranda had suggested. She was beginning to realize it probably wouldn't be a good idea.  
  
"In any case Bertha, I'm not going to worry about it," Lizzie said resolutely. "I'm just going to do my job and if they're going to fire me then...well...I have no control over that."  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Lizzie walked into her apartment. The sound of her keys on the counter echoed in the unit. She placed her briefcase by the closet. Closing the door to the apartment, she walked into the kitchen.  
  
She pulled out a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and poured herself a glass. She let the bitter liquid run down her throat and held the glass as she walked toward the couch. Setting the wine glass on the coffee table, she leaned back on the cushions.  
  
They had finished with everything.  
  
All the money matters were squared away.  
  
Everything was done.  
  
Including Lizzie.  
  
They hadn't fired her per se. They just left her without a job to be in. Mr. Brooks apparently wasn't retiring at all. Everyone had assumed that Lizzie would keep her position in finance because she would not be leaving anytime soon.  
  
But then Mr. Brooks wasn't leaving anytime soon either.  
  
Lizzie's eyes burned.  
  
After the hospital she had sworn to be done with tears and feeling sorry for herself, but somehow life wasn't working with that vow.  
  
She reached over by the phone and dialed a familiar number.  
  
After a few rings, she heard, "You've reached the residence of Miranda Sanchez and Larry Tudgeman. We are unable to take your call right now, but please leave your name and number and we'll get back to you as soon as possible."  
  
"Hi Miranda," Lizzie tried to say brightly. "I'm just calling to say 'hi'. I forgot that it's a Thursday and you two are probably on your way to your parents' house for dinner. But call me back whenever. Hi Larry and Michelle...as well. Talk to you guys soon. Bye."  
  
After she hung up the phone, she turned on the TV and found there was nothing to watch on her satellite television. She turned it off and sat in silence again. It took her a moment before she grabbed her purse on the side table and pulled out a business card.  
  
She picked up the phone and the business card and stared at both of them. She hesitated momentarily, but then just let herself dial.  
  
It felt right to talk to him.  
  
"Hello?" a voice said over the phone. He sounded a little winded.  
  
"Hi," she said. "Am I calling you at a bad time?"  
  
"Lizzie?" asked Gordo.  
  
"That's my name," she said, and then repeated, "Am I calling at a bad time?"  
  
Gordo smiled at the confirmation as he closed the door that he had left open, "No....perfect actually. I just got home. You would have gotten my answering machine otherwise. How was your flight back? How are things going?"  
  
Lizzie leaned back on the cushions again. She was glad that he didn't find a random phone call from her so odd.  
  
"The flight was good. Things are...um...okay."  
  
He took off his suit jacket and put it on the couch before he sat down. He frowned, "Things don't sound okay." His voice grew concerned, "Lizzie...what's wrong?"  
  
Inside, she felt oddly hollow. The words came out of her mouth and they entered her ears like a foreign language, "I...I got fired today."  
  
Gordo felt his mouth drop slightly. She heard him exhale on the other line.  
  
"I'm sorry if I'm bothering Gordo. I just...I called Miranda...and she's not home...and I didn't know...who...and you were there for me the other week at the hospital and...."  
  
She babbled, but somewhere in the middle of her babbles, she realized she was sobbing.  
  
Hearing her crying made Gordo wish he could just be by her side and give her a hug.  
  
"Lizzie...it's okay," he said. "You're not bothering me at all. We've been out of each other's lives for five years...we've established plenty of non-bothering time."  
  
He heard her laugh a little.  
  
"That sounds a little better," he said. Lizzie could imagine him smiling. "So what happened?"  
  
She told Gordo the entire story and finished, "Everyone just assumed...and I guess that was stupid of me. I know so many people have lost their jobs over these things..."  
  
"And they didn't even offer you a different position?"  
  
"They couldn't really... not one that didn't bear some semblance to just an accounting job. And that's all well and good, but they probably thought they'd be disrespecting me."  
  
"You're highly qualified in your field, Lizzie. I'm sure you'll find a job in no time." He hesitated before he continued, "Are you okay though? Financially?"  
  
"I'm fine. This apartment is costing me an arm and leg, but I've got money saved up to live here for awhile."  
  
"That's good to know," he said. "But if you ever need anything...don't hesitate to call me."  
  
"Thanks Gordo," she said. "You're a really good friend. How did we let so many years go by?"  
  
He shook his head, "I don't know...but the more I think about it, I realize that maybe we had to...to get back to this - this friendship."  
  
"Maybe..." she said. Changing the subject she said, "Oh, I gave your information to Gary. He said he'd call you."  
  
"He called me yesterday actually. I think there's definitely potential to work with him in the future."  
  
"That's good to hear," said Lizzie. She heard her cordless beep that indicated that it had low batteries. Confused, she glanced at her living room clock and said, "Oh, God...we've been talking for two hours."  
  
Gordo looked up at his clock and said, "We have? Oh...wow, time flies."  
  
"I should probably let you go," she said. "Thanks for lending your ear."  
  
"Anytime, McGuire."  
  
"Bye, Gordo."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Lizzie placed the phone back on the receiver. She grabbed a pillow cushion and hugged it. Her body shifted on the couch and she closed her eyes. With the memory of Gordo's voice in her ears, she fell asleep.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Gordo pressed the "off" button on his cordless and sat looking at his phone for a while.  
  
He couldn't help it. He missed her.  
  
Shaking his head, he stood up to change his clothes. Gretchen would be over with dinner and they'd watch some rental movie for the night. It was usually a satisfactory way to spend the evening, but something made everything all seem so unsatisfactory.  
  
He couldn't even let himself wonder if that had anything to do with Lizzie.  
  
He couldn't let himself wonder because he knew it did. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: "Lizzie McGuire" is not owned by me. It belongs to Disney and Co.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks to Jess, GordosGirlie, nimrodel, Baby Bunnie, and Kobe-Mac for the great reviews. Since it's been a week Baby Bunnie, I assume you're back, but this should be in your mailbox too!  
  
Another Way - Chapter Eight By: Taygeta  
  
"I'm so sorry, Lizzie," said Miranda for the fifteenth time on their half- hour phone call- their seventh in two weeks.  
  
She sighed, "It's okay. I'm fine. Can't say I was happy working there."  
  
Miranda broke the gloominess of the phone call with a laugh, "You're not going to become a pop star now, are you?"  
  
The New Yorker rolled her eyes, "I'm 27-years-old so I'm out of teeny- bopper Disney sugar pop singer zone. I'm not going to audition for American Idol Season 357...as much as Gordo may encourage me, I don't think pop star is my next career move."  
  
"What *are* you going to do?"  
  
"Don't know...working in finance will probably just make me paranoid that I'm going to get fired the next day. Job market's not been too hot either."  
  
"Maybe you should try and find something out here. It's a bit ridiculous living in that place of yours when you have no income coming in. You could stay with us for a while or you could go back to your parents. It'll be a big move, but if it works out...it's all good."  
  
"I don't know. It's a possibility though. I'll think about it," she replied. "Anyways, Miranda...I better go...I need to get some food."  
  
"Okay...call me if you need to talk."  
  
"Definitely. Bye!"  
  
Lizzie hung up the phone and stared at it for a while. She had been calling Los Angeles for the last few days: her parents and Hannah and Miranda.... and oddly enough, Gordo. Gordo and she had been talking every few days since she had made that random call to him after getting fired two weeks ago.  
  
The long distance bill was going to be killer, but somehow it didn't matter. The money was worth it. .  
  
The phone rang.  
  
Lizzie picked it up quickly and faked a breezy, "Hello, Lizzie speaking."  
  
"Hi honey. How are you holding up?" said the familiar voice of Pamela Lasco, wife of her former boyfriend Gary Lasco.  
  
"I'm doing all right," she replied. She paused and then continued, "Well...I'm a bit tired of people asking me if I'm okay when they call me every few days."  
  
The last part was said with sarcastic emphasis at the caller.  
  
"Okay...okay...I'll stop, hon," said Pamela.  
  
"Good," replied Lizzie. "I'm just joking though...I appreciate the concern. It's an annoying kind of love...but it's love."  
  
"Well...we're just hoping to get your money when you become a pop star."  
  
Lizzie fell silent and then managed to stutter out, "W-w-what?"  
  
Pamela laughed, "Gary's been talking to David Gordon."  
  
She rolled her eyes, "Gordo's still on that idea? I thought it was just a passing thing."  
  
"Well I think he's half-joking and half-serious...he's not sure which. You do have a lovely voice, Lizzie."  
  
"Why don't I just forget about business and become some lounge singer in a sleazy bar in Vegas?" she suggested.  
  
Pamela paused, "Well...I'm not sure that's *exactly* what Gordo had in mind for your singing career."  
  
"I thought the point of a new job was supposed to be me finding a sense of stability?"  
  
"True, but look at Gary and where his sensibilities took him? It took a phone call from you to get him to really focus on his love of film again. He's so happy now, Lizzie...not that he was sad before, but just so much more satisfied with his life."  
  
The unemployed blonde smiled at the loving tone in her friend's voice, "I'm glad I could help...that Gordo could help."  
  
"What is with you and Gordo anyway?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You know what I mean..."  
  
"He has a girlfriend..."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Pamela!"  
  
"I'm not suggesting you do anything improper, Ms. McGuire. I'm just saying that a lot of times, people are attached to the wrong people."  
  
"Maybe so...but I saw them at Miranda and Larry's anniversary. She's perfect for him."  
  
"Maybe I'll get to meet this Gordo person one day if things work out for Gary, then I'll assess his perfect other."  
  
"Pamela Lasco...always the matchmaker."  
  
"I just make life more fun, honey," she replied. In the background, Lizzie heard a beeping sound. "Oh, that's the cake I'm making for the dinner we're having."  
  
"Okay, have a good dinner."  
  
After they hung up, Lizzie made herself a sandwich and settled herself on her sofa. After a bite of the sandwich, she felt her mouth dry at the stale taste and she put it down. She half-wished she could be at the Lascos enjoying their dinner. She would have been invited if not for the 100-mile distance.  
  
Standing up, she rummaged through her kitchen and found a can of soup and some crackers that ended up being a quick and edible dinner. After dinner, she tried to curl up on the couch with a novel, but the romantic aspects annoyed her.  
  
She was glad when the phone rang. She was a bit tired of phone calls, but it was better than the book she had promised to read from a friend who wrote it.  
  
"Lizzie McGuire," she said.  
  
"Hi," said a familiar voice.  
  
Placing the book aside, Lizzie smiled, "Hi, Gordo."  
  
"How are you holding up?"  
  
Those words out of any other person would have made her scream, but for this person she took it in good stride, "Besides everyone asking me how things are...things are pretty good. Still unemployed, but I'm keeping a look out for things. I'm sending resumes and the whatnot."  
  
"Good to hear."  
  
"Though a friend of mine married to another friend of mine happened to mention that you're doing some P/R work for my pop-star career?"  
  
Gordo laughed, "Not pop-star...but I did mention to Gary that I thought you'd be good - possibly low-cost...hint...hint - to hire to do the main song for his film that my company has decided to pick up."  
  
Lizzie's eyes widened, "Oh my God...when...how...what...how come Pamela didn't mention anything?"  
  
"He's going to announce a temporary leave at the dinner tonight...and she's going to find out tonight," he said with a smile.  
  
"Oh my God!" she squealed. "If you were telling me this in person...I'd hug you."  
  
Gordo laughed again, knowing that she really would if those were the circumstances...and he was trying his best not to wish that they were.  
  
"Well now Ms. McGuire...it seems like you do have a job."  
  
Lizzie frowned, "What?"  
  
"The song for Gary's movie."  
  
"What song? What is this about? You can't be serious?"  
  
"It's a standard ballad that appears throughout the movie. We'll give you a script to look at. You've got plenty of time to write the song...it's perfect."  
  
"Gordo, the last song I wrote was five years ago for Miranda and Larry."  
  
"Well you better get to practicing, shouldn't you?"  
  
Lizzie sighed.  
  
His tone shifted, "Look, Lizzie, just give it a go, okay? If it doesn't work out than we'll just find someone else and we'll pay you for the time you contributed to the movie and everything. Think of it as a part-time gig before you get another posh financier job."  
  
She breathed in, "Well...if you don't convince me...Gary and you *both* will drive me insane...so...to save you guys and my insanity, why not?"  
  
"Great!" smiled Gordo. "I'll tell Gary all about this tomorrow."  
  
"Geez... I introduce you two to each other again and you guys have gone from college rivals to business associates."  
  
"Well, let's just say that the point of rivalry as ceased to be conflicting factor," he said softly.  
  
Lizzie didn't tread on that unsturdy territory.  
  
She gave a light laugh, "Can see the title of Variety now when the movie gets big, 'Former College Rivals Rival the Box Office'."  
  
"So bad...I'm glad your journalism career never panned out."  
  
"Anyways, what's going on with you? How's Gretchen?"  
  
"Just finished up a big case. She'll have some down time soon so that she and I can just spend some time together."  
  
Lizzie couldn't help but smile in spite of the twinge of sadness coming from somewhere inside of herself, "That's good to know. Will Gretchen be in Gary's film?"  
  
"We've talked about it. It's a possibility. I think there's a role that she could do well. It depends on her schedule and whether or not she would want to be in the film."  
  
"That's good."  
  
The two friends talked for a few minutes more about random topics before Lizzie started to fall asleep.  
  
"Okay, I think that is a sign that I should say good-bye," he said.  
  
"Gotta love the time difference issues...and my inability to stay up late any more," she sighed.  
  
"I can always call you tomorrow."  
  
Lizzie paused.  
  
A scheduled phone call...that would be oddly different.  
  
"Yes, you could always do that," she managed to say.  
  
It was Gordo's turn to pause.  
  
Why did he just say what he did?  
  
"So...then I guess I'll call you tomorrow..."  
  
"Um...okay. Good night, Gordo."  
  
"Good night, Lizzie."  
  
Both placed their respective phones on their receivers.  
  
Both wondered what tomorrow might lead to. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: "Lizzie McGuire" show related-ness is Disney's...all elsewhere is mine.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks to Baby Bunnie, lizzie-fan, I3itterSweet, Lara (oodles more thanks for saying such sweet things!), GordosGirlie, Kobe-Mac, karlydhutch, and RainbowPrincess for such wonderful reviews!  
  
Another Way - Chapter Nine By: Taygeta  
  
As Lizzie read through the script that Gary had e-mailed her, she found herself reading the action and dialogue word-for-word. It was a sad film that spoke of opportunities lost and chances that could never be.  
  
The ending moved her to tears.  
  
The girl never got the guy she sought. The girl never got her life to how she had dreamed it would always be. She didn't fail in her life, but she certainly didn't see her dreams come true.  
  
Gary named the film well, "Dreams of Fog." When a person sees fog at a distance, it seems close enough to touch, but when a person's in it, the delusion of solidarity fades.  
  
The script reminded Lizzie of so much of her life. She certain wasn't the seventy-year-old woman that one sees at the end, but life certainly was with dreams that had never come true.  
  
She didn't have the guy she desired, and circumstances had it that she could never even try.  
  
Lizzie put the script down with a sigh.  
  
She let herself pout for a moment. She hated that she identified with the character so much. She could envision herself as the woman in the script and then she saw her life progress further. Her dramatic queen self saw her friends at attendance to her funeral.  
  
She could just hear Gordo's voice in an older tone, "You know, she never did get married."  
  
The 27-year-old exhaled loudly.  
  
She always did have too active an imagination.  
  
Lizzie grabbed the yellow legal pad that she had on her coffee table and pulled a pen from a drawer in the small table that held her lamp.  
  
She supposed there was one good thing to identifying with the character. It might help her "job" be completed. She opened the pen camp and began to scribble.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Gretchen poured herself a glass of orange juice as she sat down beside Gordo who was going through his bills.  
  
She had spent the night at his place, and he had cooked breakfast for her when they woke up. For all the talents that Gretchen knew about herself, she knew cooking wasn't one of them. She was glad to have her David for that.  
  
Gordo made a face as he wrote checks, "I hate bills."  
  
She smiled as she looked up from the magazine she was reading, "Don't we all?"  
  
She glanced at a DirectTV bill, "I really don't know why you bother with this. You hardly watch tv nowadays. Whenever we sit down for a night-in, we go and rent something."  
  
"It's one of those 'you never know' purchases. What if I really want to watch something next week? I'm not going to install cable just for that week."  
  
Gretchen rolled her eyes and put the bill down. "Fine, the David Gordon logic never fails."  
  
He smiled and continued through his bills.  
  
He opened his phone carrier bill and blinked. As he signed the check, made a mental note to get a better long distance service...better being cheaper. It was either that or stop talking to Lizzie. The trouble of looking for a cheaper carrier won out.  
  
"Well that's a sour expression if I ever saw one. What's this one?" she asked as he discarded the bill.  
  
Gordo opened his mouth to speak before Gretchen exclaimed, "127.35? For your phone bill? David, honey, are you sure this isn't a mistake?"  
  
Before he could stop her she proceeded to look through the numbers on the bill. Gordo's first thought after her probable inquiry about New York numbers was that he was glad he wasn't the type of guy to call 900-numbers.  
  
"Well...quite a few of these calls are to New York..." she paused. Pursing her lips, she put the bill down, "No mistake, you've been talking to Lizzie, haven't you?" Hearing his silence she continued, "And for quite a long time."  
  
"Gretchen, Lizzie lost her job two weeks ago," he began to explain.  
  
The worried look in her eyes faded to sympathy, "She did? Oh my..."  
  
"After the merger, the older employee everyone assumed would retire, was asked to stay on. So Lizzie had to go. She couldn't get a hold of Miranda that day and so she called me."  
  
"But David, that doesn't explain why you've talked to her almost every day since."  
  
He sighed, "You saw how she was. You even said she looked a bit frazzled when you met her, but she was worse before that. When I had to take her to the hospital? And I just get so mad at her company for putting her through all of that only to have her not even work for them anymore. But as I was saying, it's not something I would settle in one phone conversation. She's gotten better and I call to see how things are going with her. We've haven't talked in five years before this last month...I think we're trying to make up for lost time."  
  
Gretchen exhaled, "Gordo...you don't have to explain yourself to me. I trust you. I know that you wouldn't do anything to hurt me. I know that you've got a big heart. I saw how easily you forgave her after all this time where you guys didn't talk. And I'm glad that you guys are talking again."  
  
He smiled, "Thank you." He placed his hand over hears and leaned across the kitchen table to give her a kiss.  
  
As he continued with the bills he added, " Lizzie's working on a song for Gary Lasco's movie. She was the one who recommended I look him up again."  
  
"Really?" she said. "Will she be singing too?"  
  
"We haven't decided on that. She's working on the song now. I sent her the script last week. So I'm hoping to hear that she has it done sometime soon...hopefully."  
  
"I can't wait to hear it myself," said Gretchen.  
  
The couple sat in silence. Gordo was still sorting through the bills. Gretchen glanced through her magazine. She wasn't really reading however. She was thinking about the telephone bill and the song...which of course involved a certain blonde named Lizzie McGuire. She wasn't sure how Lizzie managed to do it... in a matter of a month she had become Gordo's best friend again.  
  
There was a part of Gretchen that wondered when Lizzie McGuire would find herself back into the role of being the love of David Gordon's life.  
  
As she flipped through the pages, she found herself in a sad revelation. The love of his life was a role she would never obtain. Lizzie McGuire didn't need to find herself back into the role. She never left it.  
  
Gordo glanced up at her, "Gretchen, honey, are you okay?"  
  
She smiled, "I'm just...thinking, that's all."  
  
He put down his pen and set aside the papers in front of him. He looked at her squarely, "Does my calling Lizzie really bother you that much?"  
  
"It's not so much that, David. I don't have any say in who you call. It could be Miranda or Lizzie's mother for all that makes a difference. That's none of my business."  
  
"But something is bothering you..."  
  
"It really doesn't have much to do with Lizzie."  
  
"Then what is it?"  
  
She sighed, "It has more to do with me."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
She put her hand over his and leaned forward slightly, "David, do you love me?" 


	10. Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: "Lizzie McGuire" isn't mine. It's Disney's.  
  
Author's Note: Wow...thanks for all the great reviews!!  
  
Another Way - Chapter Ten By: Taygeta  
  
David Gordon's mouth fell open slightly. The question surprised him, but not because she had said the word 'love'. The two had exchanged such a word many times before...many months before. What surprised him was that she had to ask.  
  
"O-of course I love you," he said.  
  
Gretchen smiled, "I know...I'm sorry I even had to ask."  
  
They resumed their quiet morning, and Gretchen pretended to be happy and satisfied. David Gordon loved her, but she knew in heart that he wasn't in love with her. For now, Gretchen was willing to deceive herself. Lizzie McGuire was thousands of miles away. A phone call away, but Gretchen was the one who had Gordo at arms length.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
The phone rang.  
  
Lizzie put down her pencil and placed it on top of her keyboard. She picked up the phone.  
  
"Lizzie speaking."  
  
"Hi Lizzie," said Gordo.  
  
She smiled leaning the receiver against her shoulder, "Hey...I'm working on the song."  
  
"That's great."  
  
He sat on the couch. Gretchen had left earlier, but he wondered at the events that had passed in the morning.  
  
"Did you want to hear what I had so far?"  
  
"Um...maybe when you're done with everything would be a better time to hear it," he said distantly.  
  
She frowned slightly and shook her head, "Um...yea...I guess that would be better." With his silence she continued, "Gordo, is something wrong?"  
  
He exhaled, "I got my long distance bill today."  
  
"Oh...ooh..." she said with a grimace. "Was it bad? Is it because of me?"  
  
"I don't care about the cost Lizzie...I just..."  
  
"Gordo?"  
  
"I love talking to you...catching up with you...but Gretchen was here this morning. She realized how much I've been talking to you."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"She says she doesn't mind...that it's my business, but - "  
  
"But she's probably not too happy about it either," finished Lizzie. She stood up from her keyboard and sat on the couch, "Gordo...do what you think is right. I know that we're friends again...whether or not we don't talk to each tomorrow or not until next month. I don't want you to have to lose something - someone special like Gretchen - to be friends with me again."  
  
She heard him sigh and say quietly, "But I don't want to lose having you in my life again."  
  
The two sat in their individual couches in two different cities. For a few moments in time, each had nothing to say and just heard the other breathe.  
  
"Maybe I should just call you when I finish with the song?" Lizzie said finally.  
  
"Maybe that would be best."  
  
She felt herself smile weakly, "Okay, then I'll talk to you at some random later time."  
  
"I hope later is soon," he admitted before she heard the phone click.  
  
She sat up and walked back to her electronic keyboard.  
  
She missed him already; it was a perfect mood to write in.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
It would be a week before Gordo would hear Lizzie's voice again.  
  
It was a brief phone call to tell him that she had just mailed him and Gary CDs of the song. They got caught up about things, but the conversation was short. It was not because neither had nothing to say. Both were too afraid that it would bring them back to the days of daily phone calls, that saying too much might trigger something that would return them to a time that came close to hurting a very kind and loving woman.  
  
The CD arrived within a few days and Gordo went about his evening activities of dinner and some television before placing it in his stereo system.  
  
He sat down on his couch and pressed the 'play' button of his remote and leaned back on the coach, closed his eyes, and waited for a voice he missed.  
  
The song began with the soft sounds of a keyboard that seem to drift in like a stream of smoke, and then her voice:  
  
*Could it be that our time has passed us by? Could it be that the world just wasn't right...for you and I? That this love of ours must be denied. That this love of ours must only exist inside me. Could it be that the stars were not meant to shine down you and me? No, we...we cannot be.*  
  
The song made a transition to the chorus:  
  
*Why can't there another way? Another way to get to you. Another way into your arms. Another time spent lost in your eyes. Why can't there be another way...instead of good-bye.*  
  
Gordo laid down on the coach and changed the song to put on repeat. He lowered the volume and closed his eyes again. He fell asleep listening to Lizzie sing. 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer: Lizzie McGuire is a Disney-creation.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! (  
  
Another Way - Chapter 11 By: Taygeta  
  
Gordo woke up and glanced at his watch. It was 4 am and his cd player was still playing Lizzie's song.  
  
He sighed and sat up in his wrinkled clothes from work. His clothes were a mess, he looked like a mess, and he felt exactly how he looked. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He had made the right decision...hadn't he?  
  
And it hadn't only been his to make. Lizzie had agreed that they should speak less to each other. They were friends and they didn't need everyday conversations to make that fact establish.  
  
So, why did it feel so wrong not to hear from her? Why did it feel so wrong not to talk to her? He had been without her for five long years. Why did that seem so impossible now?  
  
*Why can't there be another way...*  
  
He looked up at his cd player and stood up to turn it off.  
  
"Why can't there be?" he asked to himself and walked away from the silent room with a sigh.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Gordo sat at his desk. He had handed his boss Mr. Essler a copy of Lizzie's song an hour ago, and he was trying to kill time in wait for a response.  
  
"David," said Mr. Essler walking out of his office.  
  
He looked up at the burly man and stood up, "Yes, Mr. Essler?"  
  
"This is brilliant. Top 40 hit...I'm sure of it."  
  
Gordo smiled, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."  
  
"Can she sing for it too?"  
  
"Well...I'm sure I can talk to her about it," he replied.  
  
"Good...good...I hope we can all of this rolling. When's Mr. Lasco flying in?"  
  
"Tomorrow."  
  
"Great! I think we've got ourselves a winner, David."  
  
Mr. Essler walked back into his office soon after that, leaving his assistant very tempted to call a certain Lizzie McGuire. After some time of internal conflict, Gordo picked up the phone.  
  
He heard: "This is Lizzie. I'm not home right now, but if you leave your name and number, I'll get back to you. Have a nice day!"  
  
"Um...hi Lizzie. This is Gordo. I've never gotten your answering machine before...um...well I showed Mr. Essler your song and he loves it. I'm at work right now, but I'll be home if you want to call me back tonight, or whenever you're free...so I'll talk to you later then."  
  
He hung up the phone.  
  
He felt stupid. He felt like he was in high school again, calling up some girl who would probably reject him.  
  
But he wasn't in high school, anymore. He wasn't even in college anymore. He was still a geek, but no one made fun of him for it. He was a grown man who had a successful job and who had a beautiful girl who loved him.  
  
Why was that not enough? What was wrong, and how was it that Elizabeth McGuire had the ability to make things feel so right and so wrong at the same time?  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Um...hi Lizzie. This is Gordo. I've never gotten your answering machine before...um...well I showed Mr. Essler your song and he loves it. I'm at work right now, but I'll be home if you want to call me back tonight, or whenever you're free...so I'll talk to you later then."  
  
She pressed the rewind button again.  
  
The message played for the fifth time.  
  
Lizzie sighed. Something was wrong with Gordo. He sounded so distant and uncomfortable.  
  
Almost reluctantly she picked up the phone and dialed his number.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Gordo?"  
  
"Oh, Lizzie, hey...did you get my message?"  
  
She smiled, "Yea...did he really like it?"  
  
"Loved it," he emphasized. "And...he wants you to sing it."  
  
Lizzie blinked, "What?!"  
  
"He wants you to sing for the film," Gordo repeated.  
  
"Uh...are you sure?"  
  
He laughed, "He told me himself. Probably wants to fly you out here to do it too. Unless, of course, you've found a job since I last talked to you?"  
  
She laughed, "Hardly. No one wants to hire me it seems."  
  
"Good...then you're free to come to LA...and it will be nice seeing you again."  
  
"We just saw each other a few months ago."  
  
"We have five years to catch up on, remember?" he said.  
  
She sighed, "Right. Wouldn't things be better, Gordo, if we didn't have to catch up on five years?"  
  
"Lizzie...we can't just go back in time and make things different. Do you really think anything would change if we could? We would still be the same people...we would still have the same...reaction."  
  
For all the hours that they had talked, this was the first time they had truly spoken about the events five years prior. Perhaps, it had all built up to this.  
  
"Every time I look back, I know I still would have kissed you," she admitted.  
  
She heard him intake a sharp breath. How did this become a confession?  
  
"Why did you have to tell me that?"  
  
"Because it's true," she replied. "And would you have told me to go away...to never see you again?"  
  
"I was in love with you. You kissed me...then you broke my heart," he summed. "What would you do if your worst nightmare came true?'  
  
"Enough said." She continued, "It was hard to stop crying after that."  
  
Gordo felt those words like they had kicked him in the stomach. In all of his self-involved inflictions, he hadn't considered that she had lost a friendship too.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said.  
  
She shook her head and adjusted the phone, "Don't be. You did what you did. We've just been through memory lane. Nothing would have changed. We can't be sorry about things that have been done."  
  
"Then what are we left with? What do we do?"  
  
"Keep on doing what we've been doing. Keep on getting back to being friends." She paused and continued in a voice that was half-joke and half- hope, "I mean...it's not like you're still in love with me." 


	12. Chapter Twelve The End

Disclaimer: "Lizzie McGuire" is a Disney creation.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks for such great reviews everyone! I hope I haven't kept you all waiting too long. Due to time constraints, this will be the last chapter. Thanks for staying with the story for so long!  
  
Another Way - Chapter Twelve By: Taygeta  
  
The reply Lizzie received was absolute silence.  
  
"Uh...Gordo...?" She said hesitantly. "Did I say something wrong?"  
  
He took a deep breath and replied, "Maybe..."  
  
It was Lizzie's turn to be silent. She wondered if her ears were working correctly. The ideas that she might be delusional or falling ill also occurred to her.  
  
"W-what?"  
  
Gordo stood up from his chair and started to pace his living room.  
  
"I mean...I don't know..." he stammered into the phone, "I mean...I don't even know what I mean..."  
  
Lizzie could feel her heart beat beneath her chest. It was racing.  
  
She took her deep breath of the conversation to calm herself, and then said as steadily as she could, "Gordo, are you still in love with me?"  
  
She closed her eyes wondering if she was going to wake up to some dream or some nightmare.  
  
It was the moment of truth for Gordo. He knew the truth, but he never thought he would have to say it out loud. Though he wondered if he had somehow led himself to this moment...if all the phone calls had somehow loomed around this subject. He wondered about Gretchen. He loved Gretchen, but this moment wasn't about her.  
  
And in truth, he admitted: "I never stopped."  
  
Her eyes opened. She heard herself intake a sharp breath and found herself rendered speechless. This had to be some kind of dream.  
  
At her silence, she heard him start to explain, "I tried so hard to hate you. You made me believe that you loved me for this tiny fraction of time. You kissed me and the world made absolute, perfect sense.... and then you took it away."  
  
Lizzie felt her eyes water, and she tried to talk, but before she could get out of her verbal struggles, he continued.  
  
"I wanted to hate you for taking that away, but I couldn't. You hurt me, but I couldn't stop loving you. I'm sorry, Lizzie...but this whole being friends again thing might get a little difficult if...I'm still in love with you."  
  
She bit her lower lip, took a deep breath, and said, "Gordo...I don't know whether or not this makes the situation any better, but you should know. I'm in love with you too."  
  
It was Gordo's turn to wonder if his ears were working correctly, if he was delusional, or if he had just contracted some illness that was clouding his thought.  
  
"Y-you are?"  
  
She sighed, "That tiny fraction of time when I made you believe I loved you...I really meant it. Everything made perfect sense for me then too, but I couldn't hurt Gary. Not like that, but just because I walked away doesn't mean I didn't feel anything...that I didn't realize how much you meant to me."  
  
The mention of Gary made Gordo pull back into living reality, "Wait...I can't...Gretchen..."  
  
Lizzie felt a tug in her heart, "I know. You can't do that to Gretchen either, can you?"  
  
"No....not so much that. I don't want to do that to her, but..." Gordo's voice trailed into some undisclosed thoughts.  
  
"But what?"  
  
Before he answered her, his mind looked back at the last time he had made such confessions to her. He didn't see then why she couldn't break up with Gary. He knew that her doing so might have hurt Gary's feelings, but what was the use of being with someone when you really wanted someone else?  
  
"I could if it meant that much to me. I could if I knew without a doubt that I was doing the right thing...that I wasn't hurting someone I cared about because of just a whim," he answered in a voice distant from thought.  
  
Lizzie wasn't sure what to say, especially when he continued, "Lizzie, was I just a whim? Did I not mean as much as Gary?"  
  
Her mouth opened slightly at the question.  
  
"Gordo...I thought we decided that the things that happened in the past would have happened no matter our 'what if' scenarios now."  
  
"Yes...that's true, but I'm not asking you if you could change things then with what you know now. I'm asking you what I meant to you back then."  
  
"Gordo...I just told you," she said, pausing slightly before she continued, "I loved you...I still do."  
  
"Then why couldn't you break up with Gary?"  
  
"Did you expect me to make that kind of decision at that moment?" she asked him in an incredulous tone.  
  
"No, but you did. You said you couldn't.... and I don't get it, Lizzie. I could."  
  
Confused, Lizzie asked, " What does all this mean?"  
  
"It means that as much as I want to believe you care about me that way, I'm not sure I can," he struggled.  
  
"W-what?"  
  
Of all the impossible possible scenarios that had run rampant through Lizzie' head these past five years, this hadn't been one of them.  
  
"I'm not sure I understand, Gordo..."  
  
He sighed, "I'm not sure I do either..."  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
"So...wait...he loves you and you love him, but he doesn't believe you love him?" asked Miranda as she put Michelle to bed.  
  
"Exactly," was Lizzie's telephone reply.  
  
Miranda stepped out of the room and sighed, "I really don't know what to do with you two...you guys are on this never-ending rollercoaster."  
  
"It's not like I chose to go on this path."  
  
"Didn't you? I mean...don't you ever wonder what could have happened if you had just gone with how you felt about Gordo to begin with?"  
  
"Of course I wonder...I wonder all the time.'  
  
"And even though you wonder, you still abide by your decision. You couldn't break things from Gary...and if I were Gordo, who has probably been holding on to that same moment like you - wondering what could have been - I would be wondering too...with all these new found revelations of 'I love you's'."  
  
"Whose side are you on, Miranda?"  
  
Sitting on the couch, she replied, "No one's. I'm not on Gordo's side. I'm not on your side. I'm playing Switzerland. I'm trying to be the unbiased."  
  
"For the unbiased, you certainly have a lot of opinions."  
  
"Hardy, har, har," she said sarcastically.  
  
"Miranda...what do you think I should do?"  
  
"Honey...I don't think I'm supposed to be answering you that question for you. I want you and Gordo to work things out, but not because I said so. I'll tell you this though, I think you and he need to evaluate things, and both of you need to come to terms with what happened five years ago. Because you guys can't move forward if you can't even get passed that."  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Why can't there be another way..." sang Lizzie into the microphone at the recording studio.  
  
The song faded.  
  
Bill, the recording director, said, "Beautiful! That's a wrap, Lizzie."  
  
She smiled and took the large earphones off.  
  
When she met Bill in the recording room, he said, "How you feeling?"  
  
"Very relieved," she said. "I hope this works out well."  
  
"If you don't make it big, then at least you enjoyed the process," he said optimistically.  
  
She laughed, "I don't really have plans to make it big...this is a side gig until I can find another job."  
  
"Interesting - not to mention, successful - side gig. What did you do before this?"  
  
"I was head of finance at Ally Records."  
  
"Oooh...so you are Ally Records' Elizabeth McGuire...I thought that was too coincidental."  
  
Lizzie laughed again, "Didn't realize that finance people can have fame..."  
  
"Well, the merger was a pretty hefty story among us recording folk. We thought it was pretty odd that the person that seemed to be heading to retirement was kept on and you were let go."  
  
She shrugged, "Sometimes life doesn't work out the way you think they will."  
  
"But that merger was awhile ago, you still haven't found a job yet?"  
  
"A head of finance who was let go...I'm either overqualified or undesired in my field," she replied.  
  
"Tough," Bill said.  
  
"You're telling me," she replied.  
  
He laughed, "Well, who knows? Maybe Ally Records will be looking for Elizabeth McGuire to be their hot new artist?"  
  
"That's what I've been trying to tell her for the past year," a voice interjected the conversation.  
  
Lizzie looked up at the visitor in surprise.  
  
Bill walked over to Gordo and shook his hand, "David, good to see you again."  
  
"Same here, Bill," he said. "How is everything going?"  
  
"It's a wrap," said the recording director.  
  
"Great! Mr. Essler will be happy to hear that it wrapped earlier than planned."  
  
Bill grabbed his jacket from his chair and said, "While I would love to stay and talk with you two some more, I have a meeting in about fifteen minutes. Lizzie, if we don't have the opportunity to see each other again, it was a pleasure working with you."  
  
She smiled and shook his hand, "Likewise."  
  
When Bill left, she turned to Gordo and said, "What are you doing here? Where's Miranda?"  
  
He smiled, "She talked me into talking to you."  
  
"Way to go Switzerland," laughed Lizzie as she wondered what was to become of Miranda's 'neutrality'.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Lizzie and Gordo walked on the beach. The recording studio was located in Santa Monica, and the most place fitting for their conversation was the ocean's shore.  
  
The conversation was silence for a long time. Neither knew what to say. They had only spoken on casual terms since Lizzie had arrived a few weeks ago to record the song for Gary's film. They hadn't talked at all about the conversation where 'I love you" fell into 'I don't believe you'.  
  
"So what are we doing here? What do you want to talk about?" she asked finally.  
  
"I just want to say that sometimes I think too much and sometimes I over analyze and sometimes I say things I don't really mean."  
  
"Oh," she said, "And what am I supposed to take from that?"  
  
"After we talked to each other," he began, "I broke up with Gretchen. I couldn't stay with her, even though I didn't know if you and I would ever have anything. It wasn't fair to her that I was with her when I could honestly say that I was in love with someone else." Lizzie gave him a silent, slight smile, and he continued, "And do you know was the first thing she said to me after I had my whole 'it's not you, it's me' spiel?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"'I know you love Lizzie...I just hoped it would somehow stop, but I guess we're not meant to be,'" he quoted, 'I guess...you and Lizzie are meant to be.'"  
  
"She said that?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"I talked to Gary," said Lizzie, "I gave him a hypothetical situation that was a little too detailed for him to really believe it was hypothetical, but he played along anyway."  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
"He told me that he probably would have accepted it, but that we probably wouldn't be as good of friends and that you probably would have never given him his film opportunity. Then he said that there are things in his life that he wondered about - wondered what would have resulted if he hadn't made those past decisions - but whenever he got to thinking about those things, he realized, they didn't matter."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"They only serve as a reference, and he's not the same person as he was in the past. Things change...things evolve..."  
  
Gordo took a deep breath, "To what?"  
  
Lizzie thought for a moment before saying, "Who knows? But some things don't change though Gordo...like the fact that I never stopped loving you. Though, it really hurt to realize that you didn't trust what I had to tell you."  
  
Gordo took a moment before he said, "It's not that I didn't trust what you had to say. I didn't trust myself. I spent all this time wondering if I could risk myself again. For all of our declarations, Lizzie, we haven't actually fallen into any relationship other than being friends."  
  
She nodded, "I realize that, but I'm inclined to believe that wherever we go from here, has to be better than that moment that has taken so long to get to here. I'm not saying that we shouldn't remember that it happened, but if we dwell on the past...things go nowhere. I'll tell you this: I don't want to hear the 'friend' line, but I can live with that if that's what you mean."  
  
He looked into her eyes, and wordlessly, he took her hand into his. She glanced at him, unsure of what this all meant. Then, he leaned over and kissed her.  
  
She needn't any explanation.  
  
He then held her close and she heard him say, "I'd rather we go another way."  
  
They stood in this embrace and let time slip from their understanding.  
  
THE END 


End file.
